Pets weren’t forgotten in rescue operations

From cats floating on couch cushions to pigs being ferried to dry land in a rowboat, bylaw and animal rescue organizations saw it all as they scrambled to save southern Alberta’s pets during the devastating June floods. A year later, those harrowing tales of survival, of daring rescue missions, of joyful reunions, and of loss, remain seared in the memories of those who spent countless hours working to bring flood-displaced animals to safety.

Clara Ho, Calgary Herald

Published on: June 17, 2014 | Last Updated: June 17, 2014 6:28 AM MDT

staying at during the floods last June only to show up on his old window still almost a year later. Lorraine Hjalte/Calgary Herald) For News story by Clara Ho. Trax #Lorraine Hjalte / Calgary Herald

From cats floating on couch cushions to pigs being ferried to dry land in a rowboat, bylaw and animal rescue organizations saw it all as they scrambled to save southern Alberta’s pets during the devastating June floods.

A year later, those harrowing tales of survival, of daring rescue missions, of joyful reunions, and of loss, remain seared in the memories of those who spent countless hours working to bring flood-displaced animals to safety.

“I’ve got 100 stories in my head,” said Kim Hessel, president of Heaven Can Wait animal rescue in hard-hit High River. “I can talk about them but I can’t write them down because when I do, I start to get emotional.”

Officials say the first priority was getting people out of flooded areas. When it was safe to do so, workers and volunteers went back for the cats, dogs, horses, lizards, hamsters and everything in between.

Lisa Coyne, unit leader for High River’s animal rescue operation during the flood, said the town rescued 1,143 animals, some of them trapped atop furniture, in vehicles, hidden in all corners of waterlogged homes.

“We rushed in on speedboat, trying to catch animals in any way we could,” Coyne said.

She said she witnessed miracles —— wading “in water up to my boobs” to rescue a near-lifeless cat from atop a hutch that had been without food for 10 days.

But there were also cases of animals drowning in locked crates in basements, animals starving to death, animals that were trapped in areas too dangerous for volunteers to access. By Coyne’s records, 75 did not survive.

“It was hard to see animals perish. It was hard to see animals distressed. But it was very rewarding to pull others out and know they’re alive today,” she said.

Between Heaven Can Wait and Cindy’s Pet Palace not far from High River, more than 1,100 animals were taken in and kept in crates stacked in laundry rooms, under event tents and in semi-trailers, Hessel said.

Calgary’s animal and bylaw services took in 26 dogs and 48 cats — as well as two pot-bellied pigs from the Calgary Zoo — housing them free of charge under the department’s safekeeping program, said Tara Lowes, manager of administration and shelter operations. All were reunited with their original owners, she said.

“When owners were coming to get their pets, we saw tears of joy,” Lowes said.

Numerous other organizations, including the Calgary Humane Society, Pound Rescue, Fish and Wildlife, and Alberta Animal Rescue Crew Society or AARCS, took in hundreds more displaced pets from all over southern Alberta during the deluge. Dozens were surrendered or unclaimed and remain in the care of rescue facilities.

Meanwhile, one woman used the power of social media to bring pets and owners back together, launching a Facebook page where frantic owners could post missing pet posters online.

She lost count but estimates southern Alberta Pet Connection — now on Twitter and soon to have its own website — has helped hundreds of people reunite with their pets since the flood.

“For some people, pets are the only things they have left and their pets mean everything,” said Deanna Thompson, executive director of AARCS. “In the end, the animals weren’t forgotten.”

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